1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health; establishing a rural EMS uncompensated care pool payment 
1.3 	program; appropriating money.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. RURAL EMS UNCOMPENSATED CARE POOL PAYMENT PROGRAM.
 1.6 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have 
1.7 	the meanings given.
1.8 	(b) "Board" means the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board.
1.9 	(c) "Eligible licensee" means a licensee that primarily provides ambulance services 
1.10 	outside the metropolitan counties listed in Minnesota Statutes, section 473.121, subdivision 
1.11 	4.
1.12 	(d) "Licensee" has the meaning given in Minnesota Statutes, section 144E.001, 
1.13 	subdivision 8.
1.14 	(e) "Public safety answering point" has the meaning given in Minnesota Statutes, section 
1.15 	403.02, subdivision 19.
1.16 		Subd. 2.Payment program established. The board must establish and administer a 
1.17 	rural EMS uncompensated care pool payment program. Under the program, the board must 
1.18 	make payments to eligible licensees according to this section.
1.19 		Subd. 3.Excluded responses. The board must exclude EMS responses by specialized 
1.20 	life support, as described in Minnesota Statutes, section 144E.101, subdivision 9, in 
1.21 	calculating payments under this section.
2.1 		Subd. 4.Application process. (a) An eligible licensee seeking a payment under this 
2.2 	section must apply to the board by March 31, 2025, in the form and manner determined by 
2.3 	the board. In the application, the eligible licensee must specify the number of the eligible 
2.4 	licensee's EMS responses that meet the criteria in subdivision 5.
2.5 	(b) When an eligible licensee, an eligible licensee's parent company, a subsidiary of an 
2.6 	eligible licensee, or a subsidiary of an eligible licensee's parent company collectively hold 
2.7 	multiple licenses, the board must treat all such related licensees as a single eligible licensee.
2.8 		Subd. 5.Eligible EMS responses. In order for an EMS response to be an eligible EMS 
2.9 	response for purposes of subdivision 6, the EMS response must meet the following criteria:
2.10 	(1) the EMS response was initiated by a request for emergency medical services initially 
2.11 	received by a public safety answering point;
2.12 	(2) an ambulance responded to the scene;
2.13 	(3) the ambulance was not canceled while en route to the scene;
2.14 	(4) the ambulance did not transport a person from the scene to a hospital emergency 
2.15 	department;
2.16 	(5) the eligible licensee did not receive any payment for the EMS response from any 
2.17 	source; and
2.18 	(6) the EMS response was initiated between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024.
2.19 		Subd. 6.Board calculations. (a) The board must calculate payments as provided in 
2.20 	paragraphs (b) and (c) for eligible licensees that complete an application under subdivision 
2.21 	4.
2.22 	(b) The board must award points for eligible EMS responses as follows:
2.23 	(1) for eligible EMS responses one to 25, an eligible licensee is awarded ten points per 
2.24 	response;
2.25 	(2) for eligible EMS responses 26 to 50, an eligible licensee is awarded five points per 
2.26 	response;
2.27 	(3) for eligible EMS responses 51 to 100, an eligible licensee is awarded three points 
2.28 	per response;
2.29 	(4) for eligible EMS responses 101 to 200, an eligible licensee is awarded one point per 
2.30 	response; and
2.31 	(5) for eligible EMS responses exceeding 200, an eligible licensee is awarded zero points.
3.1 	(c) The board must total the number of all points awarded under paragraph (b) and divide 
3.2 	that number by the amount appropriated for purposes of this section, to determine a per-point 
3.3 	amount. The payment for each eligible licensee shall be calculated by multiplying the eligible 
3.4 	licensee's number of awarded points by the established per-point amount.
3.5 		Subd. 7.Payment. The executive director of the board must certify the payment amount 
3.6 	for each eligible licensee and must make the full payment to each eligible licensee by May 
3.7 	30, 2025.

3.8 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION; RURAL EMS UNCOMPENSATED CARE POOL 
3.9 	PAYMENT PROGRAM.
 3.10 	$3,000,000 in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the general fund to the Emergency 
3.11 	Medical Services Regulatory Board for the rural EMS uncompensated care pool payment 
3.12 	program. This is a onetime appropriation.